"The truck driver analogy was just absurd, ludicrous, and it was nowhere near a proper analogy to the Catholic Church," said Anthony Foster, the father of two girls raped by a paedophile priest.

During the hearing on Thursday, Cardinal Pell accepted the church has a moral obligation to victims, but when it comes to its legal responsibility, the actions of its priests are not necessarily its fault.

"If the truck driver picks up some lady and then molests her, I don't think it's appropriate, because it is contrary to the policy, for the ownership, the leadership of that company to be held responsible," Cardinal Pell told the commission via video link from Rome.